New San Bernardino County supervisors discuss their visions

Fresh off a victorious election night, San Bernardino County Supervisor-elects James Ramos and Robert Lovingood on Wednesday discussed their visions on how to get the county back on solid financial ground.

Final election results released Wednesday showed Ramos defeating incumbent Neil Derry by more than 18 percentage points - 59.09 percent to Derry's 40.91 percent for the 3rd District seat.

The 1st District race was much closer. Lovingood took 51.22 percent of the vote to Rick Roelle's 48.78 percent.

Ramos and Lovingood on Wednesday discussed how they plan to transition into their new posts and their first orders of business.

Ramos, the former chairman of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians and a local business owner, said he wants to begin researching the county's policies on the licensing and regulation of businesses and whether any changes could be made to those policies to attract more businesses to the county.

"Before we start talking about if there's going to be tax breaks or incentives, the smart move would be to examine the policies that are already there," Ramos said.

Of particular interest to Ramos is how such policies are adopted and whether they can be tailored to different regions of the county, such as the High Desert's Morongo Basin and the Big Bear Valley.

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"We have to be able to look at policies and not be so strong on a `one policy fits all' philosophy in San Bernardino County," Ramos said.

Ramos said he will strongly support promoting the growth of jobs in the medical, warehousing and logistics fields, the sectors that have remained stable during the Great Recession.

"Getting behind those industries and really supporting those jobs that are there, we're gong to be able to increase those jobs that fit around those industries," Ramos said.

Lovingood, president of the Victorville-based temp agency ICR Staffing Services, said his first order of business will be to launch an efficiency analysis of all county programs and budgets to see how taxpayer money is being spent and if there's any fat that needs to be trimmed.

"If the end result is not a good return on the dollars being allocated or spent, then they (programs) need to be looked at," Lovingood said.

He said he will be making the necessary changes at his Victorville business as he transitions to his new job as county supervisor.

"I'll be dedicated to serving full time as 1st District supervisor," Lovingood said.

Supervisor Janice Rutherford said she looks forward to working with her new colleagues on the board, who will be sworn in on Dec. 3.

"I'm not interested in voting blocks or 5-0 votes," she said. "I'm interested in having a board where supervisors who are willing to talk to one another and move us forward toward our common vision. And that is definitely the impression I have of these two gentleman."

Board of Supervisors Chairman Josie Gonzales said she is looking forward to being able to work with individuals who are vested in their districts and committed to job and business growth.

"We are looking at creating new ideas. What are they (Ramos and Lonvingood) bringing to the table? I'm interested," Gonzales said.